QUID stands for Quantitative Ingredient Declaration. It is a UK food labelling requirement that means if you name or emphasise an ingredient in the name of a food product, or in pictures or words on the label, you must declare the percentage of that ingredient in the finished product.

For example if you sell a chicken and mushroom pie you must declare the percentage of chicken and mushroom in the finished product. If your label features a photograph of strawberries you must declare the percentage of strawberries.

Why QUID compliance is more complex than it sounds the complexity comes from how QUID percentages are calculated. The declared percentage must reflect the amount of the ingredient used in the recipe but this needs to account for ingredient changes during cooking such as moisture loss during baking or cooking down.

This means QUID compliance is not just a labelling exercise. It is a recipe management exercise. You need to know the exact quantities of every named or emphasised ingredient and how those quantities change during the cooking process.

Common QUID mistakes that catch manufacturers out the most common mistake is calculating QUID percentages from raw ingredient weights without accounting for cooking losses. A chicken breast that starts at 200g may reduce to 160g after cooking and the QUID percentage needs to reflect the as-consumed quantity not the as-purchased quantity.

The second most common mistake is failing to update QUID declarations when recipes change. If a product reformulation changes the quantity of a named ingredient the label must be updated before the reformulated product goes on sale.

How digital recipe management solves the QUID problem a digital recipe management platform calculates QUID percentages automatically from your recipe data, accounts for cooking losses, and flags when recipe changes require label updates. This removes the manual calculation step and creates a direct link between your recipe data and your compliance documentation.